, easy, and awesome. plus come in today and ask about xfinity mobile, a new kind of network designed to save you money. visit your local xfinity store today. good morning, everyone. coming up on msnbc's "your business," avoiding family feuds. how one generation of owners of the highly-successful million-dollar baby crib company passed the reigns onto their children. andrew rossen, ceo and fashion guru of theory on how to help other companies help your business. that plus highly effective ways for business leaders to engender trust. let's grow fast and work smart. that's all coming up next on "your business." >> "your business" is sponsored by american express open, helping you get business done.

hi, everyone. i'm jj ramberg and welcome to "your business," the show dedicated to helping your growing business. it's no secret that in the world of family-owned businesses, survival can be hard. when the torch passes from one generation to the next, families can face some really big challenges. some studies say that the chance for success is less than 40%. those are not good odds. the phong family who built an empire of cribs defied the odds. their company million dollar baby has become one of the largest manufacturers of cribs in the world. but that success has come despite the family facing some really hard moments. when this pair of music moguls and the ironman slurnl plurge o $3500 striking crib, it makes headlines. the l.a.-based million dollar baby is the family-run business behind this innovative design. and over the past 27 years, the

powerhouse company has delivered millions of cribs worldwide. soon after the tianenman square incident, they moved their family to the u.s. daniel had a background in venture capital and wanted in on a happy industry. >> most people shopping for baby furniture are usually quite happy. >> the pair started with one product, the classic jenny lind. the traditional spindle design. but their crib was half the price of their competitors. >> we imported the cost from asia, but i used american hardware. and then we assembled them in the united states. because safety was the defining thing in baby furniture. >> retailers were intrigued and daniel sweetened the pot by adding some highly-enticing terms unheard of at the time. >> there was no minimum order quantity. and it would be delivered to you. because we had it in stock. so our longest wait time would

be 30 days. that was his first game-changer into baby industry. >> begdaniel always had a stead supply of stock and secured warehouses in key cities across the country so retailers could pick up their orders whenever they wanted. >> use my warehouse as your warehouse was my tag line. >> the phone children jason and teddy were young when their parents' company started to sore. daniel and maryann never had examinations for their kids to work in the family business. >> i told them, you are free to do anything you want, explore the world as much as you can. >> we felt that they should do something on their own. but in 2004, i got sick. >> mary anne's sudden illness was the catalyst for tracy who was only 23 at the time to jump right in. two years later, teddy did the same. >> it does not mean that when you graduate you mosey into the company and now i'm v.p. automatically. >> but in spite of the family connections, they did not come in at the top. >> when we were young, we were

packing hardware, we were driving the forklift picking orders. >> down working in the warehouse. >> there was that idea that you have to work your way up and earn the respect of people in the company that have been here and dedicated their lives to the company for so long already. >> you also have to be very honest, also, about their abilities. i mean, if they do not have the ability to take on a certain higher role, then they shouldn't. >> it didn't take long for everyone to notice that both children possessed undeniable talent and game-changing ideas like their parents. in 2004 when tracy started, the dot com world wasn't a furniture-friendly space. >> luckily my first call was the buyer of amazon. no one else would answer her call, none of the furniture people because they thought amazon sold books. i go in and pitched that all our products are fedex-able. and she was like, this is amazing. we can't find anyone that can fed exfurniture like you guys. >> drop-shipping to big balk

stores soon followed. >> cyber monday we shipped a thousand packages in a matter of six hours. my dad was like, great, and he's like, do you want to stay? >> teddy made his mark that design innovation was happening on the high-end side. so in 2009, mdb launched babyletto, a more affordable brand. despite all the success by the second generation of fongs, both children struggled with family dynamic on the work front. challenging their father was something they both tried to avoid. >> at the beginning it was pretty tough. i was very agreeable. we were avoiding conversation, there was a lot of resentment that was building. >> they also realized the importance of perfect alignment when the family faced their employees. >> behind the scenes we're actually very good at giving each other feedback. >> you get rid of all the b.s. >> the most important thing was not to do it in front of employees. >> behind the scenes, the brother/sister conversations didn't always go smoothly. and it wasn't just a sibling dynamic at play.

tracy's husband eric, a former high-end architect, and teddy's wife tiffany, steve jobs' former assistant, joined the team, too. their aunt julia and uncle john were also part of the clan. in 2014, daniel sparked a conversation on the way to a family dinner wondering who should he pass the ceo reigns to when he was ready. >> tracy is like, let teddy go first. immediately two boys came out, john and julia, he's not ready. >> feeling that teddy needed more time to evolve into an effective leader, daniel established a transition period where he and teddy would function as co-ceos. a decision that in hindsight both father and son regret. as co-ceo, daniel would at times make decisions without ever consulting his son. >> i can see where that can be a problem for teddy. >> everybody's kind of lost, like, am i supposed to listen to him or listen to teddy who has a

different idea? >> daniel also became known for his sea-going effect. >> my dad had the tendency to come in and like poo-poo everything and fly away. so everybody is lost. >> the fong family decided to enlist the help of a leadership training expert and mentor. he helped smooth out all the transitional kinks and helped with overall communication strategy. >> in these family forums, i mean, it's really an intense feedback session. >> we got to have feelings, cry, you know, if someone hurt my feelings and be very direct about it. >> we had really great result. i'm surprised by how really strong emotions that i didn't even know that existed get flushed out. >> despite the expected multigenerational struggles that come with many family-run ventures, the fong family has turned million-dollar baby into a booming $70 million business. currently with eight brands under their umbrella. and through it all, the fongs continue to learn some

invaluable lessons. >> you can be the bridge between the employees and your father and mother. you have a special relationship with the ceo. you have his or her year. how do you bridge this gap? what conversations have been missing? what has not been talked about that needs to be talked about? >> i told him that you just need to build your team. and i think that is also very crucial in terms of family transition, the older generation to be willing to let the generation actually start hiringing its own people and take on the senior positions rather than the old people just occupy the space. >> it's just been a wild ride. who new baby furniture would be this exciting? he's a third generation garmento and true visionary in the world of contemporary fashion. andrew rossen is the unstoppable

force behind the billion-dollar brand theory known for its wardrobe essentials. he's been running the company for the last two decades. and we recently visited their new york headquarters where he shared his designs for enduring success. ♪ one of the things that i think is critically important today about a brand like ours is to be much more curated. i just don't want to make a lot of clothes to fill up racks and stores. i want to make the perfect pieces. it allows us to really consider each piece and make each piece as best we can. and the companies that are really winning are those companies that have really made a discdiscerning decision. this is what we stand for. i'm curious by nature and i think that to be open-minded to

listening and observing and learning is an important ingredient of needing to be successful. our company has been around 20 years. and i don't want the company's way of operating to get stuck in an old paradigm of business. i bring lots of people in from the outside to coach us on the digital age and the methodology and structure of modern companies. and i want to work hard and raise top digital iq of our company. our manufacturing and design and merchandising iq is very high. but our digital iq is something we have to really work on. i think it's very important to collaborate with companies outside of our own. two companies coming together and collaborating on a product idea or a concept can be very innovative and we can develop unusual things that way. we collaborate with shoe

companies, we collaborate with jean companies, i think that combination of like-minded brands working together creates some very exciting opportunities for companies. is that fabric good? this is nice. when i came up with this concept of theory 2.0, i wanted to take people that were three and four layers down that didn't really have a voice in the company. and give them an opportunity to have a voice. so i put together a group of 15 people that you called innovators working group. what i asked them to do was to think about what kind of initiatives would they like to be part of and start. one of them was a capsule collection geared towards younger people, millenials. and, in addition to that, we put together a women's entrepreneurship program. and our company is all about

entrepreneurial spirit. and we wanted to support women entrepreneurs and put together a whole series of talks around that to educate people inside our company as well as our customers. we started something called theory for good where we allowed customers to bring back old theory clothes. and we would take the old theory clothes and give them to an organization that supported people in the workplace that needed clothes but couldn't afford them. this is our new good will program. it's sustainable from the farm where sheep were raised, it was woven into fabric and the factory where the garments were cut and sewn. when i started theory, it was a phenomenon from day one. and now we do close to a billion dollars in global sales. you never know what things are

going to happen. in media company, there are all sorts of twists and turns you're faced with. my dad taught me not to look back, to keep looking forward. when we turned 20, everyone said to me, oh, well, we got to celebrate 20 years of theory. and i said, i don't want to celebrate 20 years of theory. what i want to do is think about how we are going to prepare ourself for the next 20 years. and how we're going to do things that nearly set ourselves up to be able to be successful 20 years from now. according to our next guest, the one thing that all great leaders and all great organizations have in common is trust. trusted leaders are followed. as trust increases, costs, problems and skepticism go down and morale, productivity and innovation go up. ultimately, if things go right, that leads to higher revenue. david is the ceo of the trust edge leadership institute. i was so impressed with the talk he gave recently that i invited

here on the show to share his thoughts with you. so good to see you again. >> great to be here. >> i loved being in the audience. so now better that i get to ask you questions myself. so you talk about, let's focus on the trust of your employees. it sounds, of course, it's important for your employees to trust you, but how important is it? >> this year in the trust outlook, our global study, 6,000 people, ten countries, the number one ahead of being, you know, getting a pay raise, ahead of more aon ttonomy, ahead of a better environment, employees want to trust their leaders more anyone else. i'll follow you. >> so tell me, let's say i'm leading a team here, i think i'm trustworthy, right? but somehow i created an environment where people aren't that happy. i've given them benefits and raises, we are all very clear. somehow it feels like people don't trust me. what am i doing wrong? i'm not being deceitful.

>> right. but the a-traits came out of the research, the eight components of the most trusted leaders and brands. you start to look at those as an example, clarity. all over the world, i see organizations and leaders that think they are clear when they're not. people trust the clear and they mistrust or distrust the ambiguous. they also, yesterday i'm working with one of the biggest companies in the world, they also mistrust or distrust the overly complex. that company is not trusted because they might have a breath of arrogance where we have to overcomplex fi this. when we overcomplexify this, we lose trust immediately. people trust the clear, they trust the high character, they trust the compassion. those that have intent beyond themselves. we trust those consistent. so you may trust -- >> i'm just going to write these down, clarity, not complex, compassionate, consistent, three more? >> yeah, there's committed. we trust those -- if you think of anybody in history or in your life that has left the legacy,

your mom, mandela, martin luther king, jesus, joan of arc, they were trusted because of their commitment to something beyond themselves, often to death. so commitment is a component. connection, the ability to connect and collaborate. when you think of when general motors and ford, fierce competitors, put their rnb departments, built the new high performance transmission together when chrysler was doing it on their own, it was unbelievable they would do that and saved some hundred million dollars doing it in 90 days because they were willing to connect and collaborate. connection and collaboration. and this came out of the study, the willingness and desire to stay fresh and relevant and capable. we want leaders that put us in a place where we can stay fresh, relevant. in fact, 76% of those respondents said we would trust our company more if they just trained us more. if they just gave us development opportunities like leadership. they wanted leadership and personal development way over technical. >> and frankly, unfortunately to

end here, i think we all know where our gaps are if we really sat there with all of those terms and said, really? really? am i that compassionate? really, am i that making it clear, whatever it is? this is a good start to help us start to think about it. it's clearly, clearly, very important. great to see you. thank you so much. >> great to be here, jj. when we come back, how do you combat negative and false information that is online about your company? plus, why you may want to consider creating so-called talk spaces in your office. and the people who put on the mardi gras parade in mobile, alabama, with good advice on how to meet pressing deadlines. sponsored by american express open, how to turn your ideas photograph money and know-how to get business done. ? purchase.

let's do this. got it. book the flights! hai! si! si! ya! ya! ya! what does that mean for us? we can get stuff. what's it mean for shipping? ship the goods. you're a go! you got the green light. that means go! oh, yeah. start saying yes to your company's best ideas. we're gonna hit our launch date! (scream) thank you! goodbye! we help all types of businesses with money, tools and know-how to get business done. american express open. we represent a lot of different vendors in products. and oftentimes we find that there's false information on the internet. and i want to know, how we can go about combatting that and getting the right information back to the customer. >> so what i say is, be the expert. establish yourself as the expert. one thing you can do is just

launch an e-newsletter to help create all sorts of links, tips, strategies, content, for the customer. that does two things, one, it helps them and two, it establishes you as the kind of business that really helps them. if you do that or even create a resource center on your website that does that as well, they will look to you as the expert and will love the great independent information you're going to give them. i would give one caveat. as you give the information out, remember our old friend the 80/20 rule. 80% of the content in the newsletter needs to be about helping them. if you do that, the 20% about you they will be far more interested in hearing about. when most people think of mardi gras here in the u.s., i th think they think of new orleans. but i recently learned there's a huge mardi gras festival in mobile, alabama, older than the one in louisiana. we went down there to see what it takes to put these festivities together. it is a lot of pressure and a lot of crazy deadlines. something i think probably a lot

of you deal with as well. >> it's show time? >> it is so showtime. and we're feeling the pressure. but we don't make a deadline, what we don't make the deadline what does that mean, we'll lose a contract. >> it's never not a deadline. >> steve mussel and ron barnett are used to high pressure deadlines. >> i'm working seven days a week, 10, 12 hours a day. trying to get some sleep. it's a good time to lose weight. >> steve is the owner of the company that builds the enormous mardi gras parade float. >> i think you do the best work under the gun that's what works the best sometimes. >> ron is the owner of barrett grier which plans some of the biggest events around the parades. in the weeks of carnivale leading up to mardi gras, ron and his company are responsible

for 31 grand balls like this one. set to kick off in just a few hours. >> i've got a dress rehearsal in two hours and then the event starts in about three. >> how many people are you expecting? >> out here, in the audience. >> yeah. >> oh, the ims will have 3,000 people. 2,800, 3,000 people. >> we hung out with the two business owners and the pressure was on. their clients expected a lot and there was no wiggle room whatsoever on the deadlines. right through these last moments steve and ron seemed incredibly at ease. you seem amazingly calm to me. >> well, if i was real high strung i would not do mardi gras balls for a living. >> how do they do it? why no screaming, no drama? how do steve and ron manage these deadlines with such calm? each of them has their open style but both include making sure their employees know they're part of a team. what's the secret to you getting

people to getting stuff done on time? >> the secret is i give them the opportunity to be part of a crazy, wonderful art group and they have the opportunity -- it's like being in a fraternity in college. they fit in. they found their niche. they see something huge going on. and they feel like they're part of it. >> both ron and steve use time lines to do this and intermediate deadlines along the way. but we all know even the best of plans can get derailed. >> then you have sickness or injury. you lose people. so the schedule is usually -- they work for the first two or three months and then you throw them out the window. >> the excitement of the final deadline itself eventually gets the staff moving as they start to see things coming together. on the other hand it's trickier they say to get their employees jazzed about meeting the less exciting mid project goals. ron said it's all about attitude. >> you can put a little

excitement in it. you can make them part of the excitement on any level at any time. and it does work. >> steve and ron also both credit part of their confidence to hiring people who understand their style. >> the only way we get it done is having people who know what they're doing. >> they say that they have their own quieter way of letting employees know they need to step it up. >> if something is going to hell or the employees are having a bad time, i get very quiet and methodic and they listen to me. >> when you get quiet, does everyone get nervous? they know this is your version of yelling at them? >> bingo. you're correct. >> they get it. by keeping their eyes on the big picture. they each become an island of clarity at the center of the big storm. because they're surrounded by people they trust and they don't let the chaos distract them from the end product. >> you can't get too caught up

in or you'll just drive yourself crazy. we now have the top two tips you need to know to help grow your business. let's introduce our panel and get their advice. financial expert, a best selling author and the creator of future file a legacy planning system. and the ceo of the advertising public relations and social media firm. good to see both of you. >> you too. >> you have a new business when i see you. >> i do. i'm the consummate entrepreneur. >> so congratulations. what's your tip for growing a business? >> the top tip if you want to create a really amazing competitive advantage for yourself and do it on the cheap all you need to do is to be helpful. i know this sounds very woo woo but i feel like business owners are doing the minimum they can go to get by these days. if you do out of your way a

little bit, do the right thing, make sure it's not taking away something that's food for you, but by doing the right thing you can create a huge competitive advantage. let's say you have an opportunity to present at a trade show, or a client that's not a good fit, not just turn it down but actually create that referral to somebody you know. so you're providing value to the person who asks you and you're providing value to somebody in your network. >> here's the thing, people have connections, some don't. that's all -- people who like you and you like. when you're doing business you're doing business with people. >> exactly. >> so the more i like doing business with denise the more she's the first person i call. >> you create that awe then tick relationship. it's something you can do that's easy. i want doesn't cost you anything other than a little bit of your time. >> it's fun too. all right, denise? >> every time i say to everyone how you're doing, it's busy,

busy. >> i actually a year ago banned that from my own -- >> good. >> it's so annoying. everybody is busy. but go ahead. >> why are so we busy? you're starting a new business, don't have enough people or too many people and we have to get as much done as we can. so at our office what we have done is we have created a way for people to talk and be productive. we have what are called dedicated workspaces so -- i'm sorry, dedicated talk spaces. if you'll have a conversation with anyone more than five minutes long you can't do it at the desk, around other people in a common area. because all that's going to do is distract everyone else. we all like working together, so it becomes fun. we want to talk. we don't want to take that away but we don't want to be distracted. if you know it's more than five minutes, you go away to the talk space and -- >> what's this? >> five minutes is distracting. if you're in the middle of the

epiphany and somebody says, hey, what was that thing you needed? if you're in a serious mode of competition, we took a cue from the hospitality industry. we created these do not disturb tag. if they see this hanging they know unless it's an emergency, there are few true emergencies stay away. right now -- it's not on all day. an hour or a half hour, that you need to get done what you need to get done. you have to make sure that you don't disturb yourself. other people honor these things but it's hard to honor it yourself. turn off your devices. don't go down the rabbit holes. write it down. and then do that in that half hour, an hour. >> i want this in public. i want to wear this when i'm in public what it's in an airport. i do not want you to disturb me. i think this is genius. >> you never want to sit next to me on the plane, i'm always going hi.

>> i'm so not about it on the plane. i don't want to talk to anybody. >> nobody sit next to me. >> great advice. thank you. this week's your biz selfie comes from kasan in st. louis. they are a family owned agency that provides in home care. incredibly important service. thank you for sending that. now, why don't you pick up your smartphone, take a selfie of you and your business and send it to us @your business @msnbc.com. don't include to include your name, the location, anything really interesting or cool about your company. use the #your biz selfie. thank you so much for joining us. we love hearing from you so if you want to get in touch, just send us an e-mail to your business @msnbc.com. also, if you like the show head on over to our website.

we posted all of the segments from today's show and a whole lot more. we also put new content and conversations up every single day on our digital and social media platforms as well. and that's one more thing. we have a new podcast called been there, built that. i get to five in with some of the smartest founders and business owners in country to find out how they built their brands. until next time i'm jj ramberg. remember, we make your business our business. >> sponsored by -- american express open. helping you turn your ideas into reality with money and know how. so you can get business done. oh. nuh uh. yeah. ahhhhh. mm-mm. oh. yeah. ah. agh. d-d-d... no. hmmm. uh... huh. yeah.

uh... huh. in business, there are a lot of ways to say no. thank you so much. thank you. so we're doing it. yes. start saying yes to your company's best ideas. we help all types of businesses with money, tools and know-how to get business done. american express open. ♪ welcome to "politicsnation." another week, another terrible shooting massacre. 17 people, students and administrators at a high school in florida murdered by a former student. the weapon of choice -- a high powered assault rifle. president trump called it quote, a scene of terrible violence, hatred and